Israel attacks in Gaza after incendiary balloon fire
JERUSALEM, Undefined — Israel attacked Gaza military targets late Saturday, the army and Palestinian sources said, after incendiary balloons from the Palestinian territory caused fires in Israel in recent days.
The Israeli army said fighter jets had "struck a weapon manufacturing site and a rocket launcher belonging to the Hamas terror organisation".
According to security sources and witnesses in Gaza, the facilities hit were west of Gaza City and in the northern Strip, with no immediate reports of casualties.
"The strikes were made in response to the arson balloons fired towards Israeli territory," said a statement from the Israeli army.
Incendiary balloons from Gaza caused fires in southern Israel's Eshkol region on Saturday and Friday, according to the fire service.
On Thursday, four small fires caused by incendiary balloons from Gaza were extinguished in the Eshkol region.
Israel retaliated early Friday with air strikes, which the army said struck "a weapons manufacturing site" belonging to Gaza's Hamas Islamist rulers.
Eleven days of deadly fighting between Israel and Hamas, as well as other Palestinian armed groups based in the enclave, ended on May 21 with a ceasefire declaration.
There was no immediate indication as to which Gaza-based group was responsible for the latest balloon launch.
There have been multiple flare-ups since the ceasefire, including a series of balloon launches last month, to which Israel has responded with air strikes.
The May conflict killed 260 Palestinians including some fighters, according to Gaza authorities.
In Israel, 13 people were killed, including a soldier, by projectiles fired from Gaza, the police and army said.
More than 100 rockets were fired Monday from Gaza towards Israel by multiple Palestinian armed groups, Hamas Islamists who control the blockaded enclave said.
The Israeli army had earlier confirmed at least 45 rocket launches, most targeting areas near the Gaza border, but seven were directed towards Jerusalem.
The army later sent an update that the rocket fired had continued through the night. No Israeli fatalities have been reported. — AFP
4th Filipino casualty in Israel: Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo reports that another Filipino died in the ongoing conflict in Israel. Manalo has yet to name the fourth Filipino casualty in the ongoing war.
"I regret to inform the nation that we have received confirmation from the Israeli government of another Filipino casualty in Israel," Manalo says.
"Out of respect for the wishes of the family, we shall be withholding details on the identity of the victim. But we have assured the family of the Government’s full support and assistance," he adds. — Rosette Adel.
The Israeli military says around 500,000 Israelis have been evacuated and displaced in the 10 days since Hamas unleashed the bloodiest attack in the country's history.
"There are about half a million internally displaced Israelis at the time," Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), says in an online briefing. — AFP
Israel denies reports of "ceasefire" in Gaza, according to the prime minister's office. —Agence France-Presse
The US embassy says it has organized a ship to take Americans out of Israel to Cyprus on Monday.
With Israel moving toward an invasion of the Gaza Strip, the ship will leave from the Israeli port of Haifa for Limassol taking "US nationals and their immediate family members with a valid travel document", the US embassy said in a security alert Sunday.
Tens of thousands of US passport holders live in Israel and 29 have been confirmed killed in the Hamas attacks on October 7. Another 15 are missing and believed to be among hostages held by Hamas since the attacks. — AFP
The Department of Foreign Affairs announces that the government has raised Alert Level 4 in Gaza, which means evacuation for Filipinos there is now mandatory.
- Latest
- Trending
